This piece was originally published by the Australian Digital Health Agency, here.
Harry has been battling a combination of chronic conditions since early childhood. Now in his early 20s, his medical records were so extensive that they needed to be carried on a trolley.
At 3 years old, Harry Iles-Mann was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ulcerative Colitis) and Liver Disease (Primary Schlsserosing Cholangitis) and in 2013, he was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.
He has spent essentially his whole life interacting with various facets of the healthcare system, and found to his disappointment and frustration that clinicians were sometimes unwilling to share information with each other, let alone with him directly, which impacted on the quality of his care, his health and ultimately his wellbeing.
As a result, he has developed an interest in how clinical information and access to that information can be used to make the system more user friendly and patient-centric. He sees the My Health Record as a valuable tool for managing his health information, and in the process taking control of his healthcare.
This is Harry’s story.